Parikshit Somani receives four-year suspension over doping violation

Indian tennis player Parikshit Somani has been suspended for four years after flunking a dope test during an ATP Challenger tournament in Astana last year.

An independent tribunal of the international tennis integrity agency handed the player suspension.

The 26-year-old Somani, who reached a career-high doubles ranking of 256 in July 2023, tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine in Kazakhstan on July 31, 2025.

Somani was handed a provisional suspension on September 23, 2025. Check Asian Games 2026 latest news here Check Asian Games 2026 medal tally here

"In February 2026, the player asserted that he had consumed food prepared by a family member, which had been contaminated by the family member's medicine during the food production process.

"This became the basis of Somani's explanation at a hearing before an independent tribunal on 19 August 2026. Having considered expert scientific opinions presented by Somani and the ITIA, the independent tribunal concluded that the food contamination theories were 'scientifically implausible', 'highly speculative', and 'unconvincing'," said an ITIA release.

The tribunal determined that Somani had not established the source of the prohibited substance found in his sample, and therefore no mitigating circumstances apply.

Time served under provisional suspension is credited against the sanction. As such, Somani's suspension will end on September 22, 2029.

While suspended, Somani is not allowed to play in, coach at, or attend any events organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, WTA, ATP, the Grand Slams, or any national association.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)